Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)A LOST ski instructor was miraculously saved after he used his camera flash to guide the Sierra Nevada’s mountain rescue service to him.
After getting disoriented descending the Barranco San Juan valley the Spaniard soon became engulfed in heavy snow and minus 10 degree temperatures.
With hope fading fast, the Granada man, 23, was incredibly saved when rescuers spotted his camera flash reflecting out at night.
“When people face a life or death situation, they will resort to using or doing whatever it takes to help save them.”
The search had already been called off at 9pm, two hours before it was resumed on identifying the light.
“When people face a life or death situation, they will resort to using or doing whatever it takes to help save them,” said Santos Arias, mountain rescue officer.
“Temperatures were plummeting and there was a huge amount of snow, it was a miracle.”
Despite being a Sierra Nevada ski instructor, he was not familiar with this particular slope and lost his bearings.
He had been missing for three hours, before being plucked out of the mountain obscurity.
Arias added: “Before you ski look at a map of the ski slope and the various pistes to ensure you don’t get lost.”
“Also if you’re heading off alone, take a mobile phone and torch with you.”
May it be suggested that if the mobile phone is GPS-integrated, well and good; otherwise a dedicated GPS handheld receiver can be invaluable for telling searchers where the user is – assuming the user knows how to use it. If skiing off-piste in remote locations, a Personal Locator Beacon can be if life-saver. They are not dependent on mobile phone coverage,
Thank you.